Sidewalk Repair Options

By City Ordinance 427, the cost of the construction and repair of the public sidewalks in the City of Minneapolis is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. The Sidewalk Inspections office oversees the inspection and repair of public sidewalks.

When a property owner receives a sidewalk repair notice, he/she has two options:

Hire a properly bonded private sidewalk contractor to do the required repairs

Allow a City-hired contractor to repair the sidewalk, and have the City bill you for the cost of replacement. This is the default option; if the property owner does nothing, the work will then default to the City-hired contractor.

Private Contractors

The bonded sidewalk contractor you hire must obtain a "Sidewalk Construction" permit from the Public Works Sidewalk Inspections office before proceeding with the sidewalk repair work.

For sidewalk construction within the City of Minneapolis it is a requirement to obtain a permit for installation of new sidewalk panels. Contractors, please complete the online application through the RoWay system. First time users in this system will be required to create a login.

The contractor must complete the work to the City standard for the work which will be done in the Public Right of Way.

City-Hired Contractor

If the sidewalk repair work is performed by the sidewalk contractor hired by the City, the Sidewalk Inspections office will bill or assess the property owner for the cost of this work. This system is designed to simplify the hiring and payment of contractors for residents.

The property owner can pay this bill in full within 30 days, or have the cost of the work assessed (as a special assessment) to his/her property taxes.

If the cost is less than $150.00, the property owner pays the assessment in one installment; if the cost is between $150.00 and $1500.00 the assessment is applied in five equal annual installments. Finally, if the cost is greater than $1500.00, the assessment is applied in 10 equal annual installments. Interest is charged only on the remaining principal; the typical interest rate is between 3 - 4%. The cost of sidewalk work performed by the City's contractor is comparative to a private sidewalk contractor. The City will bid a contract annually to cover all of the estimated sidewalk work to be completed in that year.

Last updated Dec 26, 2018

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